Ask the Stars - Fleet, Council, Legion

 

The final three signs show what happens when we gather behind a joint purpose, be it toward a shared destination, trapped in an endless process, or behind a true unity of identity. Here the vastness of the stars doesn't feel quite so overbearing, with questions garnering a firm YES.

10-1: The Fleet, Rising: Preparations are being made for a great journey. Why are so many travelling together?

10-2: The Fleet, Entombed: Somebody is searching for something long dead. Is there any hope?

10-3: The Fleet, Twinned: Two have been brought closer together after a time of upheaval. How did they overcome this?

10-4: The Fleet, Waning: Pressing on with the journey despite the terrible cost. How much longer can they survive?

10-5: The Fleet, Rooted: Travellers have reached their promised destination, finally having a home. How is it different than what they expected?

10-6: The Fleet, Bowed: A journey has stalled, forced to accept the fact that it will never reach its destination. Is the dead-end really insurmountable? 

10-7: The Fleet, Colliding: A brutal conflict wears down both sides. Why can there be no peace?

10-8: The Fleet, Burning: Somebody journeys further into somewhere they should not be, seeking the ultimate truth. What do they find?

10-9: The Fleet, Veiled: A destination but no directions, this traveller knows that they might never reach their goal. What keeps them searching?

10-10: The Fleet, Exiled: Travellers have been cut off from any contact for years. How have they changed?

10-11: The Fleet, Crowned: There are signs of a lost expedition having reached their demise here. What was their ultimate mistake?

10-12: The Fleet, Reflected: A journey is abandoned in favour of returning home, accepting defeat. What was the final straw?

11-1: The Council, Rising: A spring period begins, with new shoots growing from the dead ground. What toll has the winter taken?

11-2: The Council, Entombed: A place lies in its winter period. What will be the first signs of spring?

11-3: The Council, Twinned: A formerly inseparable pair find themselves in opposition. What has caused this?

11-4: The Council, Waning: Entering an autumn period, a golden age has moved into decline. What was the greatest achievement before now?

11-5: The Council, Rooted: People are enjoying a golden age of plenty and comfort. What are the first signs that this cannot last forever?

11-6: The Council, Bowed: A force finds themselves suddenly without opposition or friction. What will they do now that they are unleashed?

11-7: The Council, Colliding: A maelstrom spirals increasingly outward. What lies at the eye of the storm?

11-8: The Council, Burning: The turning point where pride comes before the fall. What has tipped the balance?

11-9: The Council, Veiled: A maze of words and processes hides a secret. Who wants to keep this from being known?

11-10: The Council, Exiled: A case is made to defend the indefensible. What case does their advocate put forward?

11-11: The Council, Crowned: A powerful group seizes the position of another. Why do they end up with more than they bargained for?

11-12: The Council, Reflected: A natural process is reversed, with shocking consequences. How is this possible?

12-1: The Legion, Rising: A cluster absorbs more and more of its neighbours into one entity. What does this growth threaten?

12-2: The Legion, Entombed: A long forgotten identity is revived. Who can take up this mantle?

12-3: The Legion, Twinned: A group is now unable to act as individuals. How have they become so reliant on each other?

12-4: The Legion, Waning: A once powerful entity is losing mass each day, its power going with it. What caused this starvation?

12-5: The Legion, Rooted: The many have banded together to ensure that all of their number are provided for. What threatens this utopia? 

12-6: The Legion, Bowed: A force is absorbed by an even greater power, taking on part of their identity. What is this new entity?

12-7: The Legion, Colliding: A successful conquest through raw force and numbers. What is lost during this conflict?

12-8: The Legion, Burning: A gathering begins to reach critical mass, with temperature and pressure rising to critical levels. How long before this situation explodes?

12-9: The Legion, Veiled: Faith brings many together to act as one. What is their great work?

12-10: The Legion, Exiled: A force that once supported and supplied here withdraws, leaving this place abandoned. What is left behind?

12-11: The Legion, Crowned: A powerful force takes stock of its achievements, but finds itself without a future purpose. What uncomfortable truth must they face?

12-12: The Legion, Reflected: Attraction is turned to repulsion. What has caused this change?

Ask the Stars - Child, Traveller, Elder

Now, three Signs that might represent the three stages of our lives. From blank slates absorbing our surroundings, to independent wanderers at the mercy of fate, finally settling as a guiding stone for the next generations. For a straight answer we finally get YES... but life is rarely simple. Every success brings a cost, every day brings us closer to death, and every mark we make on the world will one day turn to dust. Still, it looks nice for now. 

7-1: The Child, Rising: Unrestricted growth blooms here. What's feeding this growth?

7-2: The Child, Entombed: A stark lesson from the past. What has preserved this ancient failure?

7-3: The Child, Twinned: Two forces compete for resources, taking beyond their needs. What has caused this greed?

7-4: The Child, Waning: Starvation is kicking in here, a power now unable to provide for themselves. Who was previously tending to their needs?

7-5: The Child, Rooted: A place of academic learning fills curious minds. What is the focus of their tutorage?

7-6: The Child, Bowed: New life is born to a great power. How is the child different to the parent?

7-7: The Child, Colliding: Youthful rebellion and cries for change. What change do they want?

7-8: The Child, Burning: Somebody is using their knowledge to domineer others. What are they getting out of it?

7-9: The Child, Veiled: A place of obscured knowledge, kept away from all but a trusted few. What are the requirements for entry?

7-10: The Child, Exiled: A new creation is left alone to fend for itself. How are they coping?

7-11: The Child, Crowned: A new creation is announced with great ceremony. What makes them special?

7-12: The Child, Reflected: Vanity has consumed somebody, seeking only to increase their own sense of self-worth. Who is feeding their egotism?

8-1: The Traveller, Rising: The future is laid out in front of you, but it is only one possibility. What action must you take to get there?

8-2: The Traveller, Entombed: A seemingly impenetrable blockade prevents you from taking the obvious route. What's the alternative?

8-3: The Traveller, Twinned: Two distant objects brought together over a great distance. What caused this attraction?

8-4: The Traveller, Waning: A power has been reduced to a mindless, aimless state. What did this to them?

8-5: The Traveller, Rooted: A chance encounter with somebody offering just what you needed. What's the price?

8-6: The Traveller, Bowed: A great deal hangs on the flip of a coin. What is the risk and reward?

8-7: The Traveller, Colliding: Pure, random destruction is crashing through here. How could it be redirected?

8-8: The Traveller, Burning: A roving messenger is delivering important news. What makes it so important?

8-9: The Traveller, Veiled: Somebody is flying blind, trusting themselves to fate. Why are they so confident that things will work out?

8-10: The Traveller, Exiled: A wanderer is utterly lost, with no idea where they came from. What is the only clue?

8-11: The Traveller, Crowned: An ambition without clear direction, so doomed to fail. Why are they dead set on attempting it anyway?

8-12: The Traveller, Reflected: A sudden change of fortune, for the better or worse. What signals this?

9-1: The Elder, Rising: Something is dredged up from the past. What value is it today?

9-2: The Elder, Entombed: The death of a long-standing institution. Who is mourning?

9-3: The Elder, Twinned: An ancient power is now reliant on the support of another. Why must it be kept running?

9-4: The Elder, Waning: A once great power has fully slipped into decline, a shadow of itself. What small ember still burns there?

9-5: The Elder, Rooted: A place has stood here since the dawn of time. How has it survived so long?

9-6: The Elder, Bowed: Power is peacefully past on to a new generation. What caused this transition?

9-7: The Elder, Colliding: A violent stamp-down of authority. What is to be gained from this?

9-8: The Elder, Burning: A timeless tradition must be honoured. What does this require?

9-9: The Elder, Veiled: A method has been carried out for centuries, with no understanding of how it works. What is produced this way?

9-10: The Elder, Exiled: A great power is condemned and cast out in favour of a replacement. What was their crime?

9-11: The Elder, Crowned: A monument to the defining work of a generation. Was it worth the cost?

9-12: The Elder, Reflected: Somebody clings to power beyond their welcome. Who wants to see them dislodged?

Ask the Stars - Hand, Mask, and Eye

Continuing on from the previous section, these three signs show three different ways of interacting with the world. Conjuring, coercive, or contemplative. For straight answers they say No, but... not so much dead-ends as challenges to be overcome. 

4-1: The Hand, Rising: A new power is rising, seemingly out of nowhere. Who is really behind this?

4-2: The Hand, Entombed: A great project lies abandoned, half-complete. What was its purpose and why was it not finished?

4-3: The Hand, Twinned: A master and servant rely on each other for their work. What binds them together?

4-4: The Hand, Waning: A creative force is starting to fade, the fire reduced to embers. What doused the flames?

4-5: The Hand, Rooted: Somebody has created a position of safety, but stifled long-term growth. What will hold them back if they stay here?

4-6: The Hand, Bowed: An enterprise lies in ruins. Who cared enough to destroy all this work?

4-7: The Hand, Colliding: Weapons of war are being forged by the dozen. What makes these weapons different?

4-8: The Hand, Burning: A beacon is calling out to all in sight with a deliberate message. Why is it no longer true?

4-9: The Hand, Veiled: A creator works on their calling, a tribute to their beliefs. What do they believe?

4-10: The Hand, Exiled: A small group have become entirely self-sufficient, and want nothing from you. What do they have that you want?

4-11: The Hand, Crowned: A great tower lies toppled, no more than ruins. What was its doomed purpose?

4-12: The Hand, Reflected: A monument announces the greatness of its creator. Are they are great as the monument suggests?

5-1: The Mask, Rising: A lie grows beyond your control. Where has it spread to?

5-2: The Mask, Entombed: A shameful memory comes to light. Who is hiding it?

5-3: The Mask, Twinned: A longing for companionship drives somebody to betray their morals. What is the collateral damage?

5-4: The Mask, Waning: Somebody in a desperate situation pleads for your help. What makes it difficult to help?

5-5: The Mask, Rooted: Somebody is clinging to an identity that is holding them back. Why can't they break free?

5-6: The Mask, Bowed: A debt of shame is being paid through toil and servitude. What crime would cause such shame?

5-7: The Mask, Colliding: A firebrand is gathering support for a violent cause. Why do people follow them so readily?

5-8: The Mask, Burning: Somebody is overcompensating for feelings of insecurity. Where does this insecurity stem from?

5-9: The Mask, Veiled: A demagogue spreads a persuasive message of their faith. Why do people believe them?

5-10: The Mask, Exiled: A being with no identity, having cast off everything from their previous life. What is the one clue to their past?

5-11: The Mask, Crowned: Some force whispers in the ear of a powerful being, driving them to want more. What does the whisperer stand to gain?

5-12: The Mask, Reflected: A mirror shows your true self. What do you see?

6-1: The Eye, Rising: You learn two secrets, one genuine and one false. What lies between you and the truth?

6-2: The Eye, Entombed: A vault keeps secrets, not treasures. Who holds this place of such power?

6-3: The Eye, Twinned: A relationship is being kept secret. Why can it never be revealed?

6-4: The Eye, Waning: A secret that once held great power is now worthless. What destroyed its value as leverage?

6-5: The Eye, Rooted: A place of impartial judgement stands eternal. What gives them their authority?

6-6: The Eye, Bowed: A guilty party confesses to everything. What brought them to this point?

6-7: The Eye, Colliding: A witch hunt has begun, seeking out enemies within and beyond. Is there any truth to these suspicions?

6-8: The Eye, Burning: A shocking truth is revealed, for all to see and pass judgement. What happens now?

6-9: The Eye, Veiled: Somebody turns a blind eye to something, but not for their own gain. Why would they do this?

6-10: The Eye, Exiled: Something or somebody is condemned, marked as impure or unclean. What is their punishment?

6-11: The Eye, Crowned: Authority must be established here, whether through hard or soft options. What action does the authority decide on?

6-12: The Eye, Reflected: You are compelled to pass judgement on yourself, confronting yourself openly. What is your verdict?

Ask the Stars - Fang, Wing, and Cage

I can't escape the orbit of this thing. Perhaps I should stop fighting it and let it bloom into something sprawling and bright.

A galaxy built out of signs and positions, unfolding in front of you as you explore.

More prompts than procedures. More questions than answers. Broad strokes awaiting detail.

This approach of "create a giant set of tables that need content" was the spark that brought Electric Bastionland to life, so maybe there's something in that. Twelve signs in twelve positions. A gross of combinations that can each represent places, people, problems. 

The first three signs exist in the shadow of our fears. For straight answers they offer a firm no. Something stops us in our tracks or holds us back. Primal desire for both freedom and security. 

1-1: The Fang, Rising: Seeds of danger lurk everywhere, growing if left unchecked. Which is the biggest threat?

1-2: The Fang, Entombed: A demonstration of brutality has been left as a warning for all to see. What message were they trying to deliver?

1-3: The Fang, Twinned: Hostilities are frozen in a standoff of mutually assured destruction. What is threatening to disturb this equilibrium?

1-4: The Fang, Waning: A wounded or fading power is lashing out with its last breath. What damage does this cause?

1-5: The Fang, Rooted: Walls deter anybody from going within, a hostile response guaranteed. Why would you even want to go in there?

1-6: The Fang, Bowed: Somebody is utterly defeated, but the hostilities continue. Why won't they show mercy?

1-7: The Fang, Colliding: Outright and total war, with no end in sight. How did it come to this?

1-8: The Fang, Burning: A path of ashes is being carved out across this place in the name of pride. What stirred this much anger?

1-9: The Fang, Veiled: The open arms in front of you bear clear signs of being a trap. What gives it away?

1-10: The Fang, Exiled: Something has been driven into isolation for the safety of everybody else. What keeps everybody else away?

1-11:  The Fang, Crowned: A belligerent stands victorious with their spoils. Why is the current peace doomed?

1-12: The Fang, Reflected: A peace has been established. What is being done to mend the damage?

2-1: The Wings, Rising: Something beckons you to the distant horizon. What is calling you?

2-2: The Wings, Entombed: Something was destroyed here so that it could be reborn. When will it rise anew?

2-3: The Wings, Twinned: A relationship is holding somebody back from having true freedom. What is their breaking point?

2-4: The Wings, Waning: A great price has been paid for freedom, and the liberated have slipped into decline. Is there any hope for their survival?

2-5: The Wings, Rooted: A bountiful place provides enough for everybody here. What threatens to disturb the balance?

2-6: The Wings, Bowed: The strong rule over the weak here, but everybody seems content enough. Would freedom be worth the upheaval?

2-7: The Wings, Colliding: This whole place is violently changing into something new. What will emerge from the chaos?

2-8: The Wings, Burning: A devastating truth is revealed, with dramatic consequences. Should the truth be stopped before it can spread further?

2-9: The Wings, Veiled: Something has vanished into the darkness. Who wants it back, and how could it be tracked?

2-10: The Wings, Exiled: A lone traveller passes by, wanting and offering nothing from you. Why are they interesting to you?

2-11: The Wings, Crowned: Somebody longs for freedom, but their cause is likely doomed. What stands in their way?

2-12: The Wings, Reflected: A natural beauty has been transformed into a tasteless vanity project. Who would do this?

3-1: The Cage, Rising: Walls being hastily built to protect something. What business do you have in there?

3-2: The Cage, Entombed: Something has been sealed away for all eternity. What's at stake if it gets out?

3-3: The Cage, Twinned: Two individuals are joining in union. How do they strengthen each other?

3-4: The Cage, Waning: Somebody's loyalties are fading. What made them question their obligation?

3-5: The Cage, Rooted: This place is safe and rich with supplies, but you cannot stay for long. What's pushing you away?

3-6: The Cage, Bowed: A locked gate is flung open. What has changed here?

3-7: The Cage, Colliding: A battered survivor reels from repeated onslaughts. Why won't they give in?

3-8: The Cage, Burning: Somebody is forced to tell the truth. Why did they lie for so long?

3-9: The Cage, Veiled: An unseen power protects something here. How do you know that the protector is there?

3-10: The Cage, Exiled: Duty has forced somebody into a lonely existence. What cause could justify this?

3-11: The Cage, Crowned: Here lies a monument to the Last Stand. How did this final defeat change everything?

3-12: The Cage, Reflected: You are surrounded on all sides for your own safety. Why are you being offered this protection?

Intergalactic Bastionland - The Dark

The Dark would not exist without The Light.

You might assume this is the other way around. That darkness is some sort of neutral state of reality, and objects cast light into it as an exception to that resting nothingness. Maybe that's how it works over there, but not here among the Living Stars. 

Here, Darkness is a thing. It's a tangible, treacherous, terrible thing. 

Most Stars have accepted the presence of shadows within their light. Encroaching patches of darkness simultaneously oppose and, perhaps unknowingly, enforce the Star's philosophy, forming a strange cosmic symbiosis. 

But this is the raw stuff. Not just an opposition to the light of the stars, but an opposition to everything. 

There's a theory that Stars grow out of concepts. When we have an idea strong enough to give it a name, a Star is born. As the concept grows, so does the Star, sometimes splitting, sometimes merging, but burning out yet more light into a galaxy that's rapidly growing oversaturated with thoughts and colour and concepts. 

The same theory posits that this overabundance of stuff has pushed back what was once ordinary run-of-the-mill darkness and vacuum, condensing it into the capital-D Dark. 

So this is all very vague. What's actually in there?

Well, let's get the most confusing part out of the way first. There is light in there.

No, listen, this makes sense.

It's more like the dust of dead light. Barely luminous residue that hangs in the air, giving a dull, powdery view of things. It doesn't travel far. By the time your eyes capture it you might even start to lose sight of what you're looking at.

Oh yeah, and there's air in here. Remember, this isn't space, this is the Living Stars. As with the light, this is used-up old air. A billion last-breaths, barely exhaled, clinging to you like a cold shiver.

In fact, the deeper into the Dark you go, the more you might question the name. Others have called it the Fall, the Waste, or, more flatteringly, the Truth. 

But then others call it Hell, so take that with a pinch of salt.

So what's the point of the Dark? Well that's the core of it. The Dark doesn't have a point.

While Stars are all about ideas, concepts, philosophies, and agendas, the Dark sits as the other side of the disc. 

It is explicitly, aggressively about nothing. A lack of rules, lack of structure, and it whole-heartedly doesn't care about you. 

This sense of meaninglessness can repel some, but it does attract a certain sort. The sort that wants to live or die by their own hands. People that see any sort of rules or philosophy as stifling. Those that can accept an existence that could be wiped out by a crushing wave of anti-force at any moment. 

If you're thinking this would suit you then I'd encourage you to think again. Plenty of travellers have come crawling back to the Light after experiencing the true dread of a life within the Dark. It truly takes a specially warped sort of mind, and if this is even making you consider thinking twice, you're probably too wrapped up in the security of rules and structure to tough it out. 

An alternative theory is that the Dark is everything that has been forgotten. If the stars are fuelled by concepts, then they should die as frequently as they are born, as words are forgotten, poets die, and dreamers wake. Without this fuel for their fire, what's left coalesces into the Dark. The remains linger without purpose, the embers of its power lying dormant. Not much on its own, but over time these merge into a growing force without a direction. 

A force without an identity.

Except that it was something else. It clings on like an echo that won't fade to silence, gradually building towards a screaming feedback loop. All noise, no meaning. 

But that's just a theory. It probably won't come to that. 

Ask the Stars - The Signs

The Signs are designed to work as oracles, similar to how I've used Spark Tables but with a dash of Tarot's symbolism and openness to interpretation. I want to strike a balance between being vague enough to suit a range of situations, but specific enough to offer actual direction for your creativity.

The Signs make up the first half of the Ask the Stars system. The Signs don't represent static constellations, instead looser patterns that appear to reform commonly among the shifting positions of the Living Stars.

When combined with a Position, the Sign generally gives you the core of the issue at hand, with the Position acting as a modifier or accent to this.

Each is condensed to its symbol and two words. Let's dig a bit deeper into each.

1 - THE FANG (Hostility/Fear)

The survival-obsessed beast that lurks behind all of our civilised words and facades. The Fang represents the terrible things that we would do to ensure our own safety, and the unpredictable things that others would do to protect their own. These things tend to snowball out of control. A misplaced glance here, a crossed-wire there, and before you know we're enemies tearing at each other's throats. 

The Fang speaks to you when you're holding a knife and your eye lingers on it for just a touch too long. It may have been the first Sign that we learned to recognise in the stars, and without it we might have never made it beyond our first campfires. 

It can represent spiralling tension between two neighbours, a paranoid recluse, or a cowardly lickspittle parroting their leaders words of hatred. 

2- THE WINGS (Freedom/Nature)

That feeling of just wanting to leave everything behind. What could be more important than this ultimate freedom? Everything around you is just holding you back, like rocks pinning down a bird's wings. Don't overthink it, that's what you've always done up to this point.

The Wings speak to you when you gaze out of your window or into the night sky. It's the comfort you feel when you turn your back on obligations and responsibilities, or allow your animal brain to take full control. 

It can represent elopers heading off for a new life together, a hermit embracing wilderness life, or even nature itself acting as a great leveller.

3 - THE CAGE (Protection/Obligation)

The sacrifice of liberty for security, but consider that the danger can positioned be on either side of the cage. Stick to your word, laying down your life for the cause you have sworn to protect if that's what it takes. Some say that cages are made to be broken, but it's not your place to question, just to hold strong for as long as you can. 

The Cage tells you to close ranks and stay true to your oaths. If it all goes wrong, then at least believe that your sacrifice would be worth something.

It can represent a soldier throwing down their life to protect their liege, a secret society forming a square around a member when threatened by slander, or a monk dedicating their life to the spiritual salvation of their peers. 

4 - THE HAND (Creation/Misdirection)

The power and mastery that we all possess. By our own hands we wrench our vision into reality and feel our power grow even further. But a hand rarely works alone, so always consider what is happening behind the flashiness in front of you. The craftiest hands do their work out of plain sight.

The Hand puts your plans into action and forces your will onto the world around you, whether by your own hard work or the manipulation of others. 

It can represent a visionary leader uniting disparate followers, an engineer creating devices beyond their own reckoning, or a shadowy power behind the throne.

5 - THE MASK (Persuasion/Shame)

Everything that is false, hiding behind your face. We look at others and constantly fail to see the same insecurities and self-loathing that lurk and whisper to us. We seek their approval, but do not allow ourselves to enjoy it. Still, we can't get enough of it.

The Mask puts on a presentable face to the world, following social norms and building connections, all the while gnawing at you with its other side, never letting you show your true face.

It can represent a charismatic performer craving approval, a righteous politician hiding a dark secret, or a nation rising in anger to reclaim its shattered pride.

6 - THE EYE (Judgement/Secrets)

You just can't resist, can you? Peering over that fence, listening in on that conversation, reading that letter carelessly left out in the open. But just knowing isn't enough. You must pass judgement. What did they do wrong? Something rotten at their core? You'd better make sure your own secrets are carefully locked away.

The Eye draws you towards your neighbour and asks you what you really think of them, longing for an opportunity to be able to proclaim your judgement out loud.

It can represent a vengeful inquisitor, an intrusive relative, or a vault-keeper that revels in holding so many prized and secret possessions. 

7 - THE CHILD (Learning/Greed)

The empty vessel that we all were at birth. A cup longing to be filled with knowledge, but at times can feel impossible to even half-fill. The more we learn, the more we want. The more we have, the less we appreciate those things. The more questions we ask, the less we like the answers we hear. 

The Child is a constant voice inside you, always asking "But why?" and never being satisfied with the answer. 

It can represent an iconoclastic young scholar, a gluttonous socialite, or a bickering circle of conspiracy theorists.

8 - THE TRAVELLER (Wandering/Chance)

Symbolised as a walking stick or a sword, this is the romantic version of ourselves that follows the wind and leaves everything to fate. They close their eyes and trust that their destiny is planned, stepping boldly into whatever the universe has planned or them. Forget about your origin and your destination, all that matters is this step on your journey.

The Traveller wants your mind to shut off from worrying about past and present, and focus on what makes the now interesting. Stop to smell the roses, but don't stay for too long. 

It can represent a Knight without a liege, an artist travelling in search of inspiration, or a gambler that lost everything on a roll of the dice.

9 - THE ELDER (Authority/Tradition)

Listen. This is the way it is. I've been around, I've done the required reading, and everybody agrees with me. Who do you think you are to question this? Some things just work, so why should they change? Progress isn't a march towards some utopian destination, you know. It's much more complicated than that, but you really don't need to understand. Just get in your lane and you'll be happier.

The Elder speaks with harsh words that can, at times, feel oddly comforting. It's nice to not have to agonise over every ethical decision, so just follow orders or do things the traditional way.

It can represent a Prince inheriting great power through his bloodline, a despot stamping out resistance, or an ancient festival uniting a culture in celebration. 

10 - THE FLEET (Direction/Struggle)

The easy journeys are hardly worth thinking about. At some point we're all due a great pilgrimage, whether we're a lone ship or part of a sprawling armada. The journey makes us, and the destination allows us to reflect on the price paid. Was it worth it? And where next?

The Fleet pushes us towards our ambitions and desires, manifesting around us when we finally take those first steps towards progress. Its momentum keeps us going forward, sometimes preventing us from reconsidering the direction we're travelling in.

It can represent a battered army refusing to stand down and return home, an explorer leaving behind a loving family, or a great leader rising up through a life of hardship.

11 - THE COUNCIL (Opposition/Cycles)

Everything comes back around to where it started eventually, so what's the point in it all? We've got to keep the wheels turning, or else somebody will feel their side isn't getting the fair share of sunlight. Go through the motions, make them work for what they want or else they'll just keep asking for more.

The Council is the friction you feel even when you're doing something you've done a million times before. Why can't this just be simpler? Everything needs some sort of opposition, like the universe itself acting as Devil's Advocate.

It can represent a difficult harvest season after a particularly good year, a ruler unable to get reforms through their parliament, or a formerly ridiculed pastime coming back into fashion.

12 - THE LEGION (Unification/Identity)

The individual is nothing compared to the crowd, and the crowd ascends to something truly special when they act as one. A fighter is nothing next to a knight, and a knight nothing next to a crusader. We can do so much more when we cast off our own names and chant for our cause as a single voice of thousands.

The Legion is the rush you feel when you're marching in step with your compatriots, when you cheer at a flag being raised, and when you almost feel no control over your own body and voice. 

It can represent an army marching under a new banner, a traveller adopting the local culture, or a choir singing in perfect harmony.

Next time we'll look at the Positions that give each sign even more possibilities.

Ask the Stars - Putting the Core to Work

I've been thinking some more about the Ask the Stars system. 

I wrote that last blogpost with a focus on solo play, but the bridge to co-op seems pretty effortless. Similarly, I'd be interested to try it out in a more traditional GM/players structure.

But most of all I'm excited to continue this "make a simple core and put it to work" thing that's been stuck in my head recently. 

Putting the Core to Work

I've touched on this a few times but maybe I should be ultra-clear what I mean by this.

The games that I really connect with, both tabletop and digital, have a very simple mechanical core and then fully explore the possibilities of that core while remaining faithful to the original concept. 

For videogames think N++, Outer Wilds, Into the Breach, all of which I've spoken about before. For Tabletop RPGs it's trickier. There are lots of complex games that go deep into exploring their system, but they tend to lack that simple core that I crave. Similarly, rules-lite games often carry their lean presentation over to content, leaving much of the exploring to the individual game groups.

Risus, when read alongside the Risus Companion, stands out as a good example of what I'm describing here. Mothership is almost there, with its lean Rulebook serving mainly to support a diverse set of adventure modules that explore the system's possibilities. PBTA as a whole seems like a perfect fit at first, but they're a massively mixed bag,  and I feel like overall there's still too much focus on the intricacies of the mechanics rather than what you can actually do with them.

Yeah, I know I'm being super fussy here, but as always the point here is about identifying my own tastes, rather than trying to prescribe anybody else's.

And what's the point of all this? Well it's all so that I can make the game that I want. 

Putting Ask the Stars to Work

So Ask the Stars boils down to 

• Make Notes for anything that seems important. Similar things stack up to three, when it generally becomes a more critical and permanent in its impact.
• When you're unsure, roll d12 on the Ask the Stars table for a Yes/No answer or a cryptic oracle.
• Advantage/Disadvantage on rolls that are more/less likely to answer Yes. 

There's some guidance on structuring your Notes and interpreting the results of a roll, but then you're mostly left to work out the rest for yourself.

So let's look at how you actually put that core to work.

The Conversation

It's sometimes useful to think of a game as a conversation. There's that Sid Meir quote that "A game is a series of interesting decisions" which I quite like to twist into "An RPG is a series of interesting questions". In actuality it's not a perfect fit, but I've noticed I often find the questions part of a game more interesting than the actions part. 

So, whether you're acting as soloist, player, or GM, keep the following questions on hand.

When a character is taking an action, consider asking:

Action: What exactly are they doing?

Objective: What is the desired outcome?

Leverage: What established fiction makes this possible?

When you are unsure what to do, consider asking another player or the GM:

Information: What if I examine this more closely or in a different way.

Choice: What are some alternatives here?

Impact: What’s the likely outcome in the case of success or failure?

Yes and No

As standard, this table gives a equal 1-in-4 chance each to your Hard Yes, Yes, No, and Hard No results. 

At first glance your only tool to modify this is the option to roll two dice and keep the higher/lower die for a more/less positive shift.

But really you have more options than that. Consider the points made when I discussed difficulty in Electric Bastionland. In that post I rallied against the idea of adding an Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic, but here that mechanical is essentially a replacement for Ability Scores, allowing characters to be outright more likely to succeed in areas of strength and fail in areas of weakness. But still, remember those other ways of modifying difficulty, recapped here:

Alternative Advantages

• Free Entry: It just happens.
• Enhanced Success: If you succeed then you get more than you normally would.
• Lower Risk: If you fail then the consequences aren't as bad.

Alternative Disadvantages

• Barrier to Entry: You can't do it. Find another way.
• Mixed Success: Even if you succeed there will still be a complication.
• Increased Risk: If you fail then it'll be extra-bad.

Degrees of Success

Another area where this minimalist system is technically more complex than Electric Bastionland. Remember that the distinction between a Yes and a Hard Yes is not a constant, and varies depending on the situation at hand and the question being asked. 

With the presence of Hard Yes as an option, the temptation might be there to think of Yes as a Yes but... and I can see the appeal. But really it's just Yes, and the fiction will hopefully guide you in whether that's followed by but or and or just a full stop. 

Zooming

I look forward to a point when the word Zoom doesn't carry the negative weight that it does in January 2021. Until then, this is simply deciding how closely you want to view the fiction in a specific situation. There's no right or wrong here, but just remember that you have the choice. You don't need to work through every day of the three-month voyage if you're more interested in the destination, so maybe just ask a broad question covering the entire journey. Obvious, but something I know that I've forgotten in the past.

Signs and Positions

Next time I'm going to dig into the specific Signs and Positions on the table and how they can be best put to use for inspiration.

Intergalactic Bastionland - The Sprawl

The Sprawl

While the Stars themselves appear to be infinite in number, most reckoners would say the vast majority of stuff going on in the Living Stars is happening in the vast network of floating places and people that string the stars together. Out of the restrictive light of the Stars, but pushing back the lurking claws of the Dark. This in-between world is where you'll likely spend the majority of your time up here. 

Yes there's a Star in this picture, but I wanted to wear this particular influence on my sleeve.

Key Principles of the Sprawl

• Things are strangely familiar.
• Everybody is on a Journey.
• Everybody needs something.

How does this Work?

Yes, it's literally a galaxy-wide scattering of wandering planets, artificial outposts, and orphan moons. Anything but Stars (maybe some dead Stars drift out here without disrupting things too much). 

Remember, it's helpful to move away from thinking of the Living Stars as "Space as we know it". There are pockets of gravity, air, moisture, even warmth. It's still dangerous and difficult, but nothing compared to the lifeless vacuum of our own skies. 

Your Journey

I spoke a bit about Journeying through the Stars a while ago. Let's deal with the vague and then some specifics.

The Sprawl keeps its inhabitants moving. Even those trying to establish a stable life find that their life begins to drift even without their input. Most people embrace this as a way of Sprawl Life, romanticising their own particular Journey.

A physical destination isn't essential, some folk get really abstract. 

And what happens when you reach the end of your Journey? Well it really goes one of two ways. You're either in a position to discover that a new Journey now lies ahead of you, or you aren't. The latter is rarely a happy outcome. 

Riding the Sprawl

Look, this is a hard truth to accept at first, so make sure you're sitting down.

You probably don't own a ship.

Disappointing I'm sure, but look at the opportunities! The real joy of riding the sprawl is getting tangled up in it. You aren't bound to your home ship, doors locked to the outside world. You've got to get stuck in. Meet people, earn favours, hitch hike, stow away, hijack, whatever it takes. Much better than worrying about the fuel gauge on your own shuttle, right?

d8 Sprawl Locations

1: Slab

• Resembles a flat square of city that was lifted from its home and left drifting in space. 
• All life is gone, all salvage stripped, even the air has been taken. Only a hazy glow remains.
• Al pack of colossal war engines (STR 18, 12hp, Armour 3) roam the ruins, blasting any intruders with Black Light (d10 Blast). Rumoured to be built out of old ship parts, so that thing you need is probably in there somewhere.

2: Prismurk

• A jump gate in parts. It's been under reconstruction for some time but one worker has insisted on performing the work alone, with only their machine assistant.
• The worker, Gellan, will viciously refuse any help with the task, but does have a bunch of other errands you can do to help free up his schedule. 
• Gellan's machine assistant, Bisi, appears mostly to check Gellan's work and fix any errors he's made. 

3: The Silver Slumber

• Kindly-appearing simian-aliens offer you free transport on their incredibly slow, uncomfortable, boring ship.
• Once you're on the way they offer to put you into Slumber for as unreasonable a price as they think you'll pay. 
• If they hit trouble they'll wake up their slumbering passengers to help, but anybody woken from this sleep is disoriented for their first waking hour. 

4: Ovard's Ovules

• Experimental Engineer Ovard Flax will boast of his rental ships having a near 100% safety record, but cannot provide any sort of proof of this.
• Each Ovule is a one-person vessel with enough thrust to ride bumpily onto the next closest place in the Spawl.
• For an additional fee Ovard will launch you from the Thruster Cannon, giving you a boost to a further location. He stresses beforehand that this cannon isn't subject to the near-100% safety record, but it'll probably be fine. 1-in-20 chance that you get blasted to the wrong location. 

5: Mess Street

• Might appear like a mini-Bastion at first. Shops, bars, hotels, and every type of Alien you can imagine, all in a ring-like structure. 
• When you enter one of the buildings you soon discover they're all selling the same overpriced, low quality goods, and their individuality is all a front for one company that owns the whole street. 
• If you ask around you can get to the lower-street, which is where all the really interesting places are. 

6: Big-Rutt the Cleanser

• An open-topped outpost shrouded in rain clouds.
• A huge, tentacled creature called Big-Rutt will writhe into every nook of your ship, cleaning it and giving it a general service while it's in there. This is something to do with organic fluids and thousands of tiny mouths but you're better off not knowing. 
• The mostly human staff here are charged with feeding and tending to Big Rutt between jobs, but while they wait they run a little gambling den on the side and have a small shop selling "things that Big-Rutt ate and were not claimed". 

7: Uglow

• A lovely, lush little planet eternally under the calming glow of its multiple luminous moons. 
• Anybody sleeping here rests so well that any other sort of sleep just doesn't cut it. They are Deprived for the next week unless they return for more sleep at Uglow.
• Helpful birds seem to know when to wake you up. 

8: Little Dreg

• A chunk of planet, blasted out from whatever Star is previously orbited. 
• Its ruins are popular with travellers, especially those looking for other open-minded travellers wanting to consume the psychotropic fungus that grows in the darkest corners of the ruins.
• The largest ruins are sealed up, and other travellers will warn you away from them.

Intergalactic Bastionland - The Light

As you might have guessed, a lot of my attention is on GRIMLITE right now, but I do still let my mind drift back to Intergalactic Bastionland from time to time. It's still bubbling away, but it's still very much in the stage where it's trying to find its identity before I go into doing some proper testing. 

So this is how the game feels in my head right now, but be prepared for that to change.

Intergalactic Bastionland is all about travelling. It's likely your start or endpoint will be in the Light. These are the places that lie fully within the glow of a Living Star. There's a sense of safety at first, but depending on the Star in question, it might not last for long.

Key Principles of the Light

• Everything is alive.
• It welcomes travellers that follow the rules.
• Those that serve the Star have variable interpretations of the rules.

The Star's Agenda

People that have spent time in Bastion often refer to the city having a personality of its own. Writers call it a character in their story, and people that the city has chewed up and spat out curse its cruel nature.

All of which are valid, but really it's just bricks and mortar and pigeons and a whole lot of people that are out for themselves.

The Stars, though. They are alive. Their personality and agenda goes beyond the words of poets and can be felt and seen everywhere under their light.

Sure, they're inconsistent and inhuman, but there's no question that the light of a star carries its agenda. The difficult part is working out which part of their agenda is currently being enforced. They're always more layered than they first appear.

At the furthest reaches of the light the influence is subtle. Places might feel familiar, with a slight tone of their star's philosophical hue. The closer you drift, the more you explore, the more extreme the influence becomes.

Haze - the Star of Grey Mists - wants to provide a place safe from prying eyes. Secrets are obscured by swirling clouds, conspiracies are given a safe haven. In time, visitors begin to forget even their own appearance. Here we must all gradually lose our identity in the mist. Everything is grey. Only then are we free to act on our truest desires. 

Cherat - the Sunrise Star - is a place of new beginnings. Yes, it's always sunrise, wherever you stand under Rau's light. Don't question that, but embrace the optimism. The future is coming, and we can be a part of it. The problem with an eternal sunrise is that hope turns to impatience. What comes next is always just another beginning. Anything caught in the present must make way for the future. Perhaps you've already been here too long.

Roah - the Howling Star - catharsis requires a place where you do not need to understand your message as long as it's loud. If you do it right, others can't help but join in, building to a furious crescendo. Fantastic for binding together a group of angry individuals as a pack, headed out into the void to enact their vengeance on the rest of existence. 

Enforcing the Rules

The light itself can only push visitors in the right direction. Each individual location within a Star's glow needs rules to hold it together. The nature of this enforcement can lead to the original message of the star getting warped beyond recognition, but Stars embrace this as just another aspect of their domain.

Loyal residents may enforce their own view of a Star's agenda individually or in organised groups. Some stars reward this with gifts, others simply observe. Most Stars also have their own ways of ensuring things run to their liking: Beings born out of light, visions of the star's belief. Some even talk of stars bending their light into a physical form and walking among their visitors. 

Veil Warden of Haze

8hp. Concealed Sword (d10 on turn revealed, d6 afterward). 

• When two secrets begin to become intertwined, groups try to encroach on each other's space in the mist, or somebody seeks to retain too much of their own identity, the Wardens form a blockade.
• When the Warden takes Critical Damage, the attacker's allies must all make a CHA Save. If any of them fail, the character with highest individual roll cannot be found. As the veil falls from the dying Warden's face it is revealed to be that character, now dying. The Warden is nowhere to be seen.
• Suffers d12 damage if their veil is forcibly removed.

Horizon Herald of Cherat 

7hp.

• Looms on the horizon, a reminder that all must make way for the coming day. Those that see them are compelled to move away. 
• Those that move towards them are granted a vision of the future, then lashed with a stroke of dawn-light (d10). 
• If they are killed, the sunrise begins to swell violently. All in its light suffer d6 damage each turn until they can get into the shadow, but worse things dwell there.

Howling Embodiment of Roah

STR 18, 14hp. Roaring Maw (d10 Blast), Flame Form (Ignore damage from non-extinguishing sources).

• Roar even louder than everybody else. Those who join in recover all HP and Ability Scores, those who do not suffer d6 damage per Round until they join in or flee the light.
• Beckon followers into the flames, where they suffer d6 damage at first, then no further harm. 
• Blast off into the Stars, safely carrying all those that dwell within their flames. The target of this vengeance is normally somebody that a visitor has been shouting about loudly for long enough.

Pervasive Shadow

Stars can only avoid shadow if they remain solitary, empty orbits made inhospitable by any means at the star's disposal. Even then there always reaches a point where darkness begins to mingle with its light. This darkness simultaneously seeks to undermine the work of the star, but can't help but be shaped by its philosophy. 

So most Stars accept the Dark as another tool at their disposal, allowing it to dwell on the fringes of their light, clinging to every object in the Star's domain, waiting for an opportunity to intrude into the world of light. Sometimes a Star might allow this intrusion to happen with careful distribution of its illumination. Every heaven needs a hell, and sometimes the hounds need to be unleashed. 

Unveiler of Haze

DEX 16, 10hp. Ripping Claws (4d6), Shadow form (Armour 3 vs material attacks).

• Can smell secrets, drawn to them like a starving animal.
• On Critical Damage, tear a secret from the mind of the victim, then vanish into the shadows to decide how to use this against them.
• Always willing to cut a deal that involves learning more secrets.

Long Shadow of Cherat

CHA 17, 10hp. Shadow form (Armour 3 vs material attacks). Claw (d6). 

• Drawn to those that have outstayed their welcome. 
• Beckons victims to come to them. If they refuse, they lose d10 CHA. If they accept they are pulled into the Dark, where the Long Shadow tends to them well. They will only release a prisoner if they are assured they are going to carry out vengeance on Cherat itself.
• Anyone looking at the Shadow feels tired. Each Turn they must pass a CHA Save or be reduced to 0hp and Deprived until they rest.

Futiliser of Roah

STR 5, DEX 5, CHA 5, 3hp.  Shadow form (Armour 3 vs material attacks). 

• Not hostile at all, but calmly explains why what you're doing is futile, and that you should give up. If you agree and leave the light of Roah, restore all HP and Ability Scores. If you refuse, the Futiliser will just follow you. 
• When one is banished back to the shadows another is never far behind. 
• If you agree to quit, but go back on your word, they summon something much worse from the Dark.

Intergalactic Bastionland - The Living Stars

In Electric Bastionland the Living Stars serve as a relatively blank slate. A source for weird alien stuff to drop into Bastionland and a canvas for locations that don't fit anywhere else.

It wasn't always going to be that way.

Originally I was going to give them an eight-page section just like Bastion, Deep Country, and the Underground. Principles, Spark Tables, Touchstones, and procedures for mapping and conducting there. I had that section partly written when I realised there was just too much redundancy there. If you had an idea for a weird city, that could go in Bastion or one of the Failed Cities. If you wanted a weird wilderness then Deep Country has more than enough room for it. If you want weird space-time-bending locations then the Underground is already built for that.

I wanted Bastionland to a place where you could find a home for any of your ideas, and having the Living Stars as a quarter of that setting felt like it was muddying the waters too much, so I decided they would be more useful as an open canvas.

But I knew I'd come back to them.

Just like the other parts of Bastionland the Living Stars can be seen as a sort of mirror to Bastion itself. While Bastion is chaos under a veil of order, the Stars are a rigid skeleton of order fleshed in chaos. However, the more I think about this part of the setting, the more I think they could be seen as mirror to the whole of Bastionland instead.


The general concept for the Living Stars is:

• It’s not like real space.
• Everything is changing and moving.
• Each star represents something, has an agenda, and the means to act on it.

But just like Electric Bastionland, it's going to be broken down into three separate areas with their own part in the whole. At the moment they have loose placeholder names.

The Sprawl
The space between Stars is anything but empty. A web of paths between Stars, dotted with stopping-points, wandering planets, cosmic debris, and fellow travellers. Some of them might be useful, some want to make your journey more difficult, but they all want something.

• Things are strangely familiar.
• Everybody is on a Journey.
• Everybody needs something.

The Light
The places that exist in the full light of a Star. Worlds, structures, things that don't quite fit in either. They're all connected to their Star, maybe even born out of it. Whatever the Star represents is reflected in these places. The rules are clear, though born out of an alien logic. You're fine here as long as you follow them. Those that find the right Star claim to have found a sort of heaven

• Everything is alive.
• It welcomes travellers that follow the rules.
• Those that serve the Star have variable interpretations of the rules.

The Dark
Out of the Light, off the beaten-path of the Between, it's all bad. There's no sugarcoating this. No silver-lining. If Bastionland has a Hell, this is pretty close. You'd better have a good reason for being here and a solid plan for getting out.

• Everything is terrifying.
• Anything living here was banished here.
• Nothing wants to be here.

The Rest of Bastionland
The Living Stars exist above Bastionland, but it's isn't quite that simple. Remember that the Living Stars don't behave entirely like our own version of space. It's a three-dimensional space, but it's not always clear which way is down as in "back down to Bastionland".

• Bastion's position beneath the Stars isn’t quite clear.
• The Underground connects Bastionland to the Stars, but not the Stars to each other.
• Wondering if this person is from Bastion? Don't worry, they'll tell you.